Happiness is Such Sweet Sorrow
by jackiieeex13
Summary: What I would like to see happen after 47 Seconds. It's a roller coaster of emotions for our dynamic duo to get to where they want to be.


Author's Note - I read so many 47 Seconds/The Limey fanfics that I attempted my own. My story is more towards 47 Seconds over anything else. I was also going to put this into chapters, but they would be awfully tiny. I just broke it up into seperate parts but as a whole story. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer - If I owned Castle, we'd have little Castle babies by now.

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This was the first time in awhile that Richard Castle chose not to go to the 12th precinct. He was sitting in his study, staring at a blank computer screen. He could barely accomplish any writing these days, he hadn't slept last night and the only thing he ate was a handful of Cheerio's at 3 this morning. He still couldn't comprehend that Kate had confessed remembering everything from the day of her shooting.

He had several missed calls and unread text messages from her. How would he react to this while actually talking to her? Does she even realize what she said in the interrogation room? He caved in a little and went to read the text messages.

_'Rick, I'm sorry.'_

_'Can we talk about this?'_

_'I did not mean for you to find out this way..'_

_'I am so so sorry..'_

He felt the tears burning his eyes. Maybe he could hear out her reasoning for keeping this from him for so long. But what reason was good enough for this to be kept? Then he saw he had text messages from Esposito and Alexis.

_'Can you please talk to Beckett bro?'_

_'Hey dad, Det. Beckett's down here w/ Lanie & she's crying...do you know if she's okay?'_

Crying. Katherine Beckett is crying because of him. Partially. He replied to his daughter's text first.

_'Everything will be okay, sweetie. We need to talk some things out.'_

After taking in a deep breath, he typed out a reply to Esposito.

_'Tell her I just need a day or two...tell her that we WILL talk. I promise.'_

Rick shoved his phone in his pocket and closed his labtop. He grabbed his keys, wallet and coat then headed out for a walk to clear his mind. He walked into a little corner cafe, buying himself a coffee and almost buying Beckett's usual. After handing the barista the money, he ran a hand over his face, almost bumping into a woman. He began apologizing and looked down into the familiar green eyes he just adored.

This was the first time he ever saw such pain and hurt in these eyes. The red rims, puffy cheeks, mascara smeared under her eyes. She smiled at him slightly, even though it was painful to do so. He smiled back and turned to walk away but quickly turned back around.

"Hey Kate?" She looked back over at him. "We will talk okay? I just need a little time and space. I promise. When I said 'Always' I meant it. I won't just walk away. I could never do that."

"I'll give you whatever you need." He smiled again and went to walk away when she called out his name. "Hey Castle? For the record, I love you too."

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Rick sat on a bench in Central Park thinking about his conversation with Kate. It was short but meaningful. It held so much for him, especially when she said she loves him too. His heart was still in overdrive. Not only did he love Katherine Beckett, but she loves him. He really can't stay mad at her after that. She's his 'third times the charm' and he's her 'one and done.' This really was meant to happen no matter how much hurt and heartache they went through. It was going to be worth it.

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Kate went to go visit Lanie, forgetting about Alexis being there. She saw the redhead standing over a microscope but her best friend was no where to be found. Alexis turned to her and smiled.

"Hey, Detective Beckett. Dr. Parish is gone for the rest of the day. Is there something I could do for you?"

"Not really. But thank you Alexis. I needed to talk to Lanie about something."

"About my dad?" Kate nodded. "He told me what happened. And from your standpoint, I can understand why you kept it a secret for so long. You were broken and didn't want to jump into anything knowing you could both get hurt even worse in the end. I assume you're getting help still, from a psychiatrist?"

"Yeah, I am. The relationship between your dad and I is what I work on the most with Dr. Burke but no matter what, it will still scare me." She confessed.

"I can see that. But I do see how my dad looks at you, the way he talks about you. My Gram said he lights up whenever he talks about you with other people because he loves you so much. You're special when it comes to him. He would never intentionally hurt you. You're the best thing that has ever happened to him. Well, besides me of course." Kate couldn't suppress a laugh from that comment no matter how hard she tried.

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Kate walked down the hall towards her place when she saw a man sitting outside her door.

"Castle?" He turned his head and smiled at her. "You're here to talk already?"

He stood up as she started unlocking her door.

"I couldn't stay away for as long as I was trying to. I just keep replaying everything and just needed the blanks filled in as soon as possible."

She opened the door and they walked inside. He collapsed onto her couch, running a hand over his face as she got changed. He felt the couch shift a few minutes later and looked over to see her in black leggings, an off the shoulder baggy purple sweater and her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. He couldn't stop staring and Kate noticed. She smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"Nothing to be ashamed of Kate. You're gorgeous and I'm just adminring that."

She smiled again then shifted closer to him, facing sideways on the couch, his arm draped across her lap.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked.

"I really just want to know why."

"Why I kept it from you?" He nodded. "Okay. I can do that. But you have to promise me you won't interrupt with questions or comments until I'm done."

"I promise." Taking a deep breath, Kate began her story.

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Kate poured her heart out on everything from the summer involving the Hamptons, temptation for something more to happen while in LA, how right he was about her hiding in relationships and finally how scared she was, how she was so lost after the shooting. She told him how she was getting help and how she has been realizing, how worth it a relationship with him could be.

Castle couldn't think of anything to say at first. HE just stared into the space in front of him, nodding. He looked over at Kate, noticing the tear streaks and smudged make up under her eyes again. He moved his arm to rest on the back of the couch, urging her to move closer. She cuddled up into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist loosely. He kissed her on the forehead and rubbed circles in her back.

"We will get through this Kate. And to be quite honest, you're not the only one who kept a secret." She picked her head up to look at him, wiping her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"We have to go to my place for that but you have to do the same thing I did. Let me explain before you make any comments or questions." He stood, pulling her up with him. "No running away either. We're going to work this out. We've been fighting this for too long. We'll do whatever it takes to make this work."

"I love you Rick." She said, taking his hands in hers. He brought them to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"I love you too."

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The two were standing in Castle's study, in front of the SmartBoard. He had turned on it several minutes ago and Kate was just taking it all in. She was still holding Rick's hand, which was seen as a good thing to him.

"I will start explaining whenever you are ready." She turned her head to look at him and nodded.

"I'm ready."

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He sat back on the edge of his desk and she sat beside him, their hands still intertwined. He started off with the mystery man calling him, the files he was sent before Montgomery was killed, how this guy was keeping her safe. Then he talked about the case with the Mayor, how it went unsolved so Castle would stay at the precinct which would keep Kate from going back down that rabbit hole again. He told her the few new things he had added and how he hasn't touched it since the case with the Mayor.

He watched her take her bottom lip between her teeth and look over at the board again. He saw the worry, the hurt, but he also saw something else in her eyes that gace him hope.

"Do you need time to take this all in? I'll Give you whatever you need."

She sighed heavily and then turned to him.

"I don't need time. What I want though, is for you to let this go for now. Risking our lives and our families' live is not worth it. If we find something in a future case that comes back to this then we'll pursue it. But right now, I want to let this go and we can live our lives together. Okay? It's what my mom would really want."

"I can do that. I will do that." He shut the SmartBoard off and wheeled it away. "The only time I will use that is for book outlines. I promise." She smiled softly at him.

"You're not mad or anything?" He asked, walking back over to her.

"I'm hurt more than anything but I'm going to listen to your advice. We'll get through this. I told you how I'm getting help and I want this to work. I'm changing myself for the better Rick."

He stood in the vee of her legs and smiled down at her.

"You really are extraordinary." He leaned down, taking her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly.

"So I've been told."

She let her fingers hook on to his belt loops pulling him closer then wrapped her arms and legs around him. He deepened the kiss first, letting their tounges battle with all the passion that has been bottled up. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisting her up, carrying her to the bedroom. For this one night the walls came tumbling down, allowing them both to prove their love to each other.

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Epilogue

Early May found the couple celebrating life. Kate, Rick, Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Jenny, Martha and Alexis were at The Old Haunt honoring the anniversary of Montgomery's death and that Kate was alive. She sported an elegant, princess cut, white gold engagement ring that would soon be accompanied by a matching band in a few weeks. Jenny had a bump of a belly, expecting their baby boy in 3 & a half more months. Lanie & Esposito were back together, actually living together too. Martha's acting studio was ravved over in an article in the New York Times. Alexis was a fresh high school graduate, prepping for NYU in the fall with some of her fellow classmates.

Rick brought his glass up to start a toast and soon everyone else followed.

"We're here today to celebrate life and our accomplishments since meeting one another. It truely has been an amazing time working with the 12th precinct and I have gained so much from doing so." He wrapped an arm around his fiancee's shoulders and kissed her cheek.

Esposito backed down. "Bro, you leaving us?"

"Not quite. And not at this exact moment."

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"Well Kevin, when you become a daddy in a few months I'm sure you both will take time off from work to get adjusted to the new addition in your lives and find a way to work with the little one around too but as for me..."

"Castle! Get to the point! Is Kate knocked up or...?"

"Yes! We're having a baby!"

"Here! Here!" Matha cheered. They met with their glassses, clinking and congratulating the happy couple. They had so much coming to their lives over the next few months but this was all just the beginning to spending the rest of their lives together. One big, happy family.

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**And that is the end! Thank you for reading! :)**

**Oh, and if anyone wants to see the ring I tried my best to describe...below is the link!**

**Reviews are the cream to my coffee ;)**


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